Thousands of people descended on the Lakes at the weekend, causing many problems and prompting warnings from the police and director of public health.

Cars and vans were illegally parked by beauty spots and fires lit. People camped and tons of litter were left behind.

The police are reminding all visitors to respect the local communities and the environment.

“Significant problems were encountered over the weekend with parking in popular areas of the Lake District,” said a police spokesman. “In some cases emergency services vehicles were impeded or would have been unable to access some locations if required, due to abandoned vehicles.”

There has been camping across the Lakes. “The use of disposable barbecues and lighting of fires has caused problems across the county at a time of extreme fire risk. Recent fires in moorland areas of the region illustrate the risk posed,” said the spokesman.

“The dumping of disposable barbecues, bottles, toilet waste and other litter has also caused problems in communities, particularly for the National Trust wardens and National Park rangers who have cleared up 130 refuse bags full of rubbish from beauty spots this weekend.”

Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Slattery said: “As the lockdown measures are eased across the country and foreign holidays are not available, many people are choosing to visit the Lakes and Dales but we appeal to all visitors to respect the environment and the local communities.

“Surveys conducted by the National Park Authority over the weekend show that 68 per cent of the visitors would not normally have come to the Lakes and many had never visited before, so we want to stress how important it is for new visitors to protect this World Heritage Site.

“With so many travelling at a time when most food outlets and most toilets are still closed, it is vital that people behave in a responsible and considerate manner.

“We all hope that the tourist economy can start to open up soon and cater for all who want to visit our fantastic national parks but potential visitors need to understand how facilities are still limited.

“Until camp sites and holiday accommodation are allowed to open, people should not plan to stay overnight in contravention of the coronavirus regulations.

“Social distancing must be observed at all times, vehicles must be parked legally and considerately and visitors must take their rubbish away to be disposed of safely and responsibly.”

“Roads blocked by parked cars and piles of discarded bottles and barbecues on the lake shores are not acceptable. Now, more than ever, it is vital that visitors care for the area and leave nothing but footprints.”

A group of men from Liverpool were found camping in Lanthwaite woods at Crummock Water on Monday morning.

National Trust area warden Mark Astley discovered eight tents. “I explained to them that they should not be there, regardless of lockdown. And they should definitely not be having a fire,” he said.

“They left but did not take away their two big bags of rubbish.”

Mark, whose area includes Loweswater, Crummock and Buttermere, said: “There have been quite a few individuals camping and thinking they’re hiding. When we get a long spell of warm weather we get this problem.”

He estimated there were more than 300 people at Woodhouse, Crummock, on Sunday. “Most people are behaving. Most of them are families trying to get away from four walls,” he said.

His big concern is fires. “People have been making little fires out of dead wood, which is something we really don’t want at the moment, especially in the woods.

“There have been quite a lot at Crummock and a few on Loweswater. With everything being so dry it does not take much to start a fire in the wood.”

Colin Cox, Cumbria’s director of public health, said: “I have to stress that while lockdown restrictions are slowly easing it is still extremely important to maintain the social distancing and good hygiene measures that have helped limit the spread of the virus so far.

“Almost 40,000 people have died because of the virus and there continue to be new infections daily. Only if people stick to the guidelines can we hope to prevent a second wave of infection and the re-imposition of stricter lockdown measures.”

Richard Leafe, chief executive of the Lake District National Park Authority, said: “Parts of the Lake District were busy over the weekend but overall visitor numbers were significantly lower than they usually are.

“We had reports of people parking inconsiderately, camping illegally and dropping litter and we had a team of staff working all weekend to manage this.

“I’d encourage people to show care and consideration for everyone who lives and works here.

“If you do visit, please use a car park, plan ahead using saferlakes.co.uk, don’t light barbecues and take your litter home when you leave.

“The current government guidelines state that overnight stays are still not permitted. Following these simple steps means we can all continue to enjoy the many health and wellbeing benefits of the National Park.”